Vent system insert apparatus and method for installation

ABSTRACT

In one form, a vent system is provided that can be mounted to a structure to provide for air flow either into or out of the structure. The vent system comprising one or more covers and at least one bottom flange in which the bottom flange defines a hole or opening. The cover is positioned over the opening and further defines the space between the cover and the flange to provide for air to travel either into or out of the opening. One or more inserts may be positioned within the opening or within other spaces defined by the cover and bottom flange to assist in minimizing the amount of moisture, snow or other foreign objects from entering the vent system.

The present patent application claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 60/906,449 filed on Mar. 12, 2007, named “ExhaustVent System Apparatus and Method for Installation,” which application isincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a vent system insert, and moreparticularly to vent system inserts that provide for vent filtering andprovide for an enhanced air flow condition within the interior of astructure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Intake and exhaust vents of various types are well known in the art.Such devices are typically used in residential or commercial structuresto provide for necessary air flow in and out of a building. Vents arecommonly installed in building roofs and walls but are also located inother places.

However, previous vents have some inherent disadvantages. One of thedisadvantages with existing vents is that they allow excessive moisture,snow or objects to enter a structure. The moisture, for example, canexcessively damage a structure and it is desirable to minimize thisnegative effect.

The present invention overcomes these and other problems inherent inexisting vents. For example, the present invention provides one or moreinserts that are used in combination with intake/exhaust vent systems.The inserts prevent excessive moisture, snow and objects from entering astructure and allow the vent system to operate to allow adequate airflowinto or out of the structure. The insert may be factory installed or maybe used to upgrade existing vent system installations. The insert is lowin cost and easy to install.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one form, a vent system is provided that can be mounted to astructure to provide for air flow either into or out of the structure.The vent system comprising one or more covers and at least one bottomflange in which the bottom flange defines a hole or opening. A ring orother mechanical device may be attached to the bottom flange andencircle the opening whereby the cover is positioned over the openingand further defines the space between the cover and the flange toprovide for air to travel either into or out of the opening. One or moreinserts may be positioned within the opening or within other spacesdefined by the cover and bottom flange to assist in minimizing theamount of moisture, snow or other foreign objects from entering the ventsystem. In yet other forms, an insert can be provided to upgradeexisting vent systems installations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the vent system withan insert positioned in a vent and the vent system mounted to astructure;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the insert of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the insert of FIG.1;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the vent system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another alternate embodiment of a ventsystem insert;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the insert of FIG. 5shown installed in a vent system;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the insertof FIG. 5 shown installed in a vent system;

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of an alternate embodiment of a vent system withan insert positioned in a vent;

FIG. 9 is a top view of the vent system of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an alternate top view of the vent system of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along sections A-A ofFIG. 8;

FIG. 12 is an alternate embodiment of an insert;

FIG. 13 is yet another alternate embodiment of an insert;

FIG. 14 shows an alternate embodiment of a bottom flange;

FIG. 15 shows an alternate embodiment of a cover; and

FIG. 16 shows an alternate embodiment of the flange top side and of acover with the insert in position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In one form, the invention is an exhaust/intake vent system insert asshown in FIGS. 1-7. In one embodiment, a substantially circular insert10 is formed from mesh material. In one form of the invention, theinsert 10 may be placed into an existing roof vent system 20installation. One example of a roof vent 20 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 4.In other embodiments, the insert can be square shaped, rectangularshaped or any shape required to fit into a specific vent design. See forexample Insert 12 of FIG. 3.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, in one embodiment, vent system 20 maycomprise a vent cover 22, a vent bottom flange 24, a vent opening/hole26, and an interior space 28 which is formed between the side wall ofvent cover 22 and a ring 32. In one form, ring 32 is attached to bottomflange 24 or may be an integral unitary part of bottom flange 24.Further, in one embodiment, vent cover 22 is fixed to ring 32 at certainpoints along the perimeter of ring 32 by one or more fasteners 42 or byany other form necessary to fix vent cover 22 to ring 32 for aparticular application. The vent cover 22 is positioned whereby there isa necessary space between vent cover 22 and bottom flange 24 to allowfor air circulation into or out of the structure to which the ventsystem is installed.

For an existing vent system installation or for a factors installedsystem, one or more inserts 10 are installed underneath vent cover 22whereby the one or more inserts 10 are placed within a hole or opening26 defined by ring or other surface 32. When in position, as shown inFIG. 4, additional sealant 40 can be used and applied around the upperand/or lower perimeter of insert 10 to provide even greater filteringefficiency of insert 10 within the vent system.

In another application, the insert 10 can be a factory-installed insertin any type of vent system used either for residential or commercialconstruction. The insert 10 system may also be employed in newconstruction or existing construction buildings. The vents may bepositioned virtually anywhere on the buildings and the insert 10 systemwill operate as herein defined.

In another embodiment, the insert 10 can be installed in anypre-existing vent without the need to completely remove and replace theentire vent. One benefit of this vent system is to prevent large amountsof snow from blowing into attics whereby the snow enters through airgaps in standard mushroom-style roof vents. Furthermore, when insert 10is in position, the vent functions normally, while blocking snow andother items, allowing for proper airflow to maintain and pass throughthe vent in either direction. As such, the vent system will minimizeand/or prevent water damage to buildings such as occurs when snow/waterruns to the interior of a building's drywall and insulation. Anotherbenefit of the system is that an average user or homeowner can purchaseand install the vent insert system 10 in an existing vent with no damageto the existing structure. In other forms, an existing vent providesventilation to and removes moisture from, for example, an attic oroverhead space area of a residential or a commercial building.

In one form, a mesh circular insert 10 having a diameter of the opening26 in a roof vent 20 is inserted into opening 26. In place, the insert10 assists with the elimination of snow build-up inside the vent andwithin the building and also keeps rain and objects from blowing intothe interior space while still providing adequate ventilation and notinterfering with the required air flow of the vent. The vent systeminsert also prevents foreign objects such as, for example, birds, largeinsects, leaves, twigs, etc. from entering the vent opening. The ventinsert system provides further additional sealing properties. In certainapplications, yet a second or even a third insert 10 may be positionedin the roof vent 20.

In yet other embodiments, materials other than mesh material may be usedfor proper operation of the roof vent system. The materials can consistof a variety of different materials and properties such as plastic,fiberglass, mesh, paper, metal, recycled materials and yet othermaterials that can provide for proper sealing and proper ventilation ofa vent using insert 10 as described herein. The material may beflexible, pliable or stiff in nature depending on the application.

In still yet other applications, insert 10 can be a variety of differentsizes and shapes to accommodate the necessary requirements anddimensions of a vent in which it will fit. FIGS. 2, 5 and 7 show a fewexamples of the size and shapes of the insert but certainly other sizesand shapes are required for particular applications. The insert may alsobe distributed to the user in a basic square shape and the user can cutthe insert to fit a specific application. The vents may be sold wherebythe insert 10 is in place during factory installation or insert 10 maybe installed in existing vents that did not originally feature theinsert 10 during factory production.

In yet other embodiments, as shown in FIG. 5, an insert 14 shaped in asubstantially elongated rectangular shape can also be positioned in avent as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of how an elongated rectangular shapedinsert 14 may be used within the vent system 20. In this form, multipleinserts 14 are used to achieve the desired filtering effect. Forexample, one insert 14 may be used at each corner of vent 20 wherebyinsert 14 is placed inside space 28 which is formed by a side wall ofvent cover 22 and ring 32 as shown in FIG. 6. Additional inserts 14 maybe placed at adjacent space openings 28 as shown in FIG. 6.Additionally, in this configuration, inserts 14 may also be used incombination with one or more inserts 10 to provide for additionalfiltering options.

FIG. 7 shows yet another form of using an insert within a vent system20. In this application, insert 14 is one continuous elongated piecewhereby the insert substantially wraps around the circumference of ring32 or other wall within the vent system as shown in FIG. 7. In thisapplication, one or more inserts 10 may be used in combination withinsert 14 to provide for even greater filtering capabilities. A sealant40 may also be applied to the embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7 at variouspoints where insert 14 is adjacent to any portion of the vent system 20to provide for even additional filtering capabilities.

In yet another form of the invention, as shown in FIGS. 8-11, ventsystem may comprise yet additional features. In this embodiment, aninsert 52 may be supplied substantially as shown in FIGS. 8, 9, 10 and11 whereby the insert is positioned over a hole 60 whereby the insertcovers substantially all or a significant portion of the hole or opening60 to minimize the amount of moisture, snow or foreign objects to enterthrough the vent system into the building. In this embodiment, a cover54 is provided whereby a lip, flange or protrusion 56 further assists tomaintain insert 52 in place over the hole or opening 60 as shown in FIG.11. As with this and other embodiments discussed herein, yet additionalshapes for the insert may be provided as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13. Theinserts can be substantially any shape necessary to cover all or only aportion of a hole or opening within the vent system. The various otherfeatures of alternate embodiments discussed herein may also be adaptedand/or configured to cooperate with the embodiment(s) shown in FIGS.8-13.

And yet still other alternate embodiments of the vent system may beshown in FIGS. 14, 15 and 16. As shown in FIG. 14, a bottom view of theflange 70 is shown having a recess 72 defining an opening or hole 73. Asbest shown in FIG. 16, the flange 70 as shown in a top view, further hasraised walls 74 further defining the opening 73. Turning to FIG. 15, analternate embodiment of a cover 76 is shown whereby in FIG. 15 theunderside or the bottom side of cover 76 is shown having a lip orprotrusion 78 that in one embodiment travels the entire inner perimeterof cover 76 whereby a filter or insert 80 can be held in place as bestshown in FIG. 16. When the cover 76 is positioned in place on the bottomflange 70, in one form, fasteners or other means for attaching such asfor example welding, adhesives, or other means for fastening can attachand securely hold cover 76 in place at one or more points 82 asidentified in FIG. 16. The various other features of alternateembodiments discussed herein may also be adapted and/or configured tocooperate with the embodiment(s) shown in FIG. 14, 15 or 16.

While the present invention is susceptible of embodiments in variousforms, there is shown in the drawings and will hereinafter be describedsome exemplary and non-limiting embodiments, with the understanding thatthe present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification for theinvention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specificembodiments illustrated. In this disclosure, the use of the disjunctiveis intended to include the conjunctive. The use of the definite articleor indefinite article is not intended to indicate cardinality. Inparticular, a reference to “the” object or “a” object is intended todenote also one of a possible plurality of such objects.

1. A vent system that can be mounted to a structure and provide for airflow either into or out of the structure comprising: at least one cover;at least one bottom flange, wherein the bottom flange defines a hole; aring attached to the bottom flange and encircling the hole, and wherebythe cover is positioned over the hole and defines a space between thecover and the flange to provide for air to travel either into or out ofthe hole; and one or more inserts positioned within the hole.
 2. Thevent system of claim 1 wherein the insert is comprised of a meshmaterial and the insert is round.
 3. The vent system of claim 1 whereinthe insert is rectangular shaped.
 4. The vent system of claim 1 whereinthe insert snuggly fits within the ring to prevent movement of theinsert when positioned in the vent system.
 5. The vent system of claim 1wherein additional sealant is provided around the circumference of theinsert to provide for greater filtering capabilities.
 6. The vent systemof claim 1 wherein the cover is attached at various points to the ringand the insert is positioned snuggly in position whereby the ringcommunicates with the insert and the insert is positioned within thehole formed by the ring.
 7. A method for minimizing the amount ofmoisture, snow or objects that can enter into an air-intake ventdefining an opening that allows air to pass into and out of thestructure comprising: positioning an insert in the vent opening wherebythe insert fits snuggly within the opening; and attaching the ventsystem to the building structure.
 8. The method of claim 7 furthercomprising the step of providing sealant around the circumference of theinsert whereby the sealant enhances the filtering capabilities andmaintains the insert in a fixed position within the vent system.
 9. Themethod of claim 7 wherein the insert is comprised of a mesh material.10. The method of claim 7 wherein the insert is substantially a roundshape.
 11. The method of claim 7 wherein the insert is substantially arectangular shape.
 12. The method of claim 7 further comprising the stepof providing an insert and cutting the insert to fit the shape of theopening.
 13. The method of claim 7 further comprising positioning asecond insert in the vent opening adjacent the first insert.
 14. A ventsystem that can be mounted to a structure and provide for air floweither into or out of the structure comprising: at least one cover; atleast one bottom flange, wherein the bottom flange defines a hole; aring attached to the bottom flange and encircling the hole, and wherebythe cover is positioned over the hole and defines a space between thecover and the flange to provide for air to travel either into or out ofthe hole; the cover having side walls extending downward toward theflange and whereby the side walls form one or more spaces between theside walls and the ring; and one or more inserts positioned within thespace formed between the side walls and the ring.
 15. The vent system ofclaim 14 wherein the one or more inserts are comprised of a meshmaterial.
 16. The vent system of claim 14 wherein the insert snugglyfits within the space formed by the side walls and the ring to preventmovement of the insert when positioned in the vent system.
 17. The ventsystem of claim 14 wherein additional sealant is provided around theperimeter of the one or more inserts to provide for greater filteringcapabilities.
 18. The vent system of claim 14 wherein the cover isattached at various points to the ring and the insert is positionedsnuggly in position whereby the ring communicates with the insert andthe insert is positioned adjacent to the bottom flange.
 19. A ventsystem that can be mounted to a structure and provide for air floweither into or out of the structure comprising: at least one cover; atleast one bottom flange, wherein the bottom flange defines a recess andhole within the recess; the cover is positioned over the hole anddefines a space between the cover and the flange to provide for air totravel either into or out of the hole; and one or more insertspositioned within the cover and whereby the inserts are positioned overthe hole.